The Pi passed it's tests (Photos of the ex Panasonic EMC testing facility on the R-Pi website), but only for class A equipment (no case ya see). Apparently Farnellement and Rsssss are now in the process of smacking a few pi's to pieces to check they meet RoHS requirements.

Hopefully the suppliers will now not decide that as it could be a consumer rather than a developer product, demand it be tested for Class B, though I think the compliance teams have been involved with what they require to sell the comestible.

So I suppose it's all down to filing the paperwork, running up a few CE/FCC/Canadian thing stickers to bung on the boards and then........

Colin

PS - interesting discussion on the various CE marks coming out of china and elsewhere on goods, over at the R-Pi forum.
--
cdb, on 10/04/2012

> The Pi passed it's tests (Photos of the ex Panasonic EMC testing facility
> on the R-Pi website), but only for class A equipment (no case ya see).
> Apparently Farnellement and Rsssss are now in the process of smacking a few
> pi's to pieces to check they meet RoHS requirements.
>
> Hopefully the suppliers will now not decide that as it could be a consumer
> rather than a developer product, demand it be tested for Class B, though I
> think the compliance teams have been involved with what they require to
> sell the comestible.
>
> So I suppose it's all down to filing the paperwork, running up a few
> CE/FCC/Canadian thing stickers to bung on the boards and then........
>
> Colin
>
> PS - interesting discussion on the various CE marks coming out of china and
> elsewhere on goods, over at the R-Pi forum.
> --
> cdb, on 10/04/2012
>
>
>

> Apparently Farnellement and Rsssss are now in the process of smacking a few
> pi's to pieces to check they meet RoHS requirements.

ROHS screening:

Normal method is use of an XRF / EDXRF gun
aka Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometer.
Prices are in the $15k - $40k range for portable and small units up to
$MORE for larger units.
These would allow built-up ROHS checking were it not for one small "problem".
Alas, all smd metal film resistors contain lead, and are ROHS exempt,
but give "false" positives, so yes, they are probably "smacking a few
to pieces" to eliminate the resistors, at least.

XRF, or X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, is a powerful tool for
analyzing the elemental composition of unknown materials. Miniature
X-Ray tubes and PIN diode detectors have enabled this lab technology
to leave the lab in the form of portable analyzers. Niton, recently
acquired by Thermo Electron, is the industry leader in portable XRF.

All portable XRF analyzers do the same basic task. They emit low-level
X-Rays focused on a sample of interest, and examine the spectra of
even softer X-Rays emitted by the sample atoms. Using an onboard
library of spectral patterns for elements, the analyzers identify the
element by the energy, and measure the quantity by the intensity.

Includes eg:
I particularly enjoyed using the Innov-X analyzer to look for Pb and
other metals in plastic parts. PVC is especially troubling. I have
encountered wiring manufacturers claiming that their wires and cables
are RoHS compliant, though they still use PVC insulation. The Innov-X
revealed 4% Pb in the PVC insulation of several wire samples. This is
right in the middle of the 2% to 6% range for Pb stabilizers that were
once used in almost all PVC. Clearly, you have reason to be concerned
about PVC in your purchased parts. XRF is the quickest and most
cost-effective way to scan for such hidden risks.

> >From a link below:
>
> XRF, or X-Ray Fluorescence spectrometry, is a powerful tool for analyzing the
> elemental composition of unknown materials. Miniature X-Ray tubes and PIN diode
> detectors have enabled this lab technology to leave the lab in the form of portable
> analyzers. Niton, recently acquired by Thermo Electron, is the industry leader in
> portable XRF.
>
> All portable XRF analyzers do the same basic task. They emit low-level X-Rays
> focused on a sample of interest, and examine the spectra of even softer X-Rays
> emitted by the sample atoms. Using an onboard library of spectral patterns for
> elements, the analyzers identify the element by the energy, and measure the quantity
> by the intensity.

There are periodic items on the TV in the UK, where somebody is wandering places like Cornish Tin Mines with one of these devices, analysing the trace elements to see if it is viable to reopen the mine in this climate of rising prices.

It is also somewhat like the instruments we developed to fly around the moon for the "Smart 1" and "Chandarayaan 1" missions, except there we used the X-rays from the sun to excite the minerals, and looked for the resultant mineral signature x-rays. Had the advantage that the sun is a broad band X-ray source, where anything we generate has to be swept in energy to properly excite the minerals.